When people ask me what paper trimmer I recommend for scrapbook operations, I almost always recommend a Carl paper trimmer. This isn’t because Fiskars, Purple Cows and other brands are necessarily bad, it is because Carl goes above and beyond what you would expect in a paper trimmer. One recent addition to our site, which will probably be a huge hit with the scrabookers, is the Carl DC-300N premium 12″ rotary paper trimmer. This is my review.

Carl manufactures a wide variety of paper trimmers. This varies from handheld pizza-cutter-like trimmers to high-end professional trimmers for photographers. Carl paper trimmers are affordable. A few years back I purchased an RT-200 for my wife and she absolutely loves it.

The Carl DC-300N has a lot going for it. To begin with, it is made from 100 percent recycled materials. This is pretty cool in my book, and if you’re trying to be more green, an environmentally-friendly paper trimmer like the DC-300N is a great option. Both the metal and plastic components are made from recycled materials.

One feature everyone expects to have in a scrapbook-capable paper cutter is portability. While portability may not be a feature you need in a rotary paper trimmer, this cutter includes a built-in handle. Just grab the cutter and go! It also features several storage compartments where you can place extra blades.  You can see more pictures of the Carl DC-300N here.

Blades on the DC-300N are extremely easy to swap out. Not special tools are required. The cutting head itself keeps the blade safely covered during the entire cutting process, making the DC-300N extremely safe. The cutting head is also ergonomically designed to fit in the palm of your hand, making the trimming operation seamless. The blade itself is a premium carbide blade.

While you would expect a paper trimmer to cut only paper, the DC-300N can also be used to trim card stock, photographs, laminated material and more. It has a 20 sheet cutting capacity (with 20lb paper), so it is a pretty robust little cutter, especially considering the low price.

Accuracy may be one of the DC-300N’s highest selling points. The cutting blade is designed to stay true, stable and accurate during the entire cutting process. A built-in clamp helps to keep paper in place, eliminating the dreaded crooked cut. Specially patented Carl cutting rails also help keep things sturdy. This cutter is also pre-calibrated prior to shipping, ensuring accuracy.

One cool feature that I really like, which also helps contribute to accuracy, is the luminous paper holder. This is the green/yellow looking plastic piece you see in the picture. This holder is designed to gather light and highlight the item being trimmed. This puts you in control of the cutting process and makes it extremely easy to see what’s going on.

As you would expect with any rotary paper trimmer, the Carl DC-300N has a series of graphics, grids and rulers printed right on the base of the cutter. This makes it easy to align material for cutting. An adjustable paper clamp also helps you line up your cut.

Overall I have to say that this is a solid little cutter. While it isn’t designed for high-volume cutting, it is perfect for scrabooking, hobby cutting, photo trimming and much more.

You can find the Carl DC-300N premium 12″ rotary paper trimmer here and our entire line of rotary paper cutters here.

Carl rotary paper trimmers are some of the most popular trimmers we offer. There are many reasons for this. To begin with, Carl paper cutters are extremely affordable. There are a variety of different designs to choose from and many of them are available with interchangeable blades. Car trimmers are a huge hit with scrapbookers, photographers, hobbyists and others that need precision cutting. We are proud to announce that we have just added 7 new models to our site.

Carl has made many changes to their new lineup of rotary paper trimmers. These changes, in my opinion, are for the better. To begin with, their new paper trimmers are made from recycled materials. This is environmentally friendly and a rarity among paper trimmer manufacturers.

I’m also a big fan of the new color scheme. Carl trimmers used to have a blue and gray look, but now have a metal gray and black look. The new look is very modern and looks excellent sitting on a desk or table. Most of the new Carl trimmers are extremely portable and many even include a built-in handle.

One of the biggest changes is the addition of a luminous paper holder. This holder has a fluorescent yellow/green look to it. It is designed to gather ambient light; focusing the light on the item you are cutting. Because it is easier to see what you are trimming, cuts turn out better.

Here are the new Carl trimmers we just added to our site:

• Carl DC-95N Personal Rotary Trimmer
• Carl RBT-12 Personal Rotary Trimmer
• Carl RT-200N Professional Rotary Trimmer
• Carl DC-300N Premium Rotary Trimmer
• Carl DC-238N Heavy-Duty Rotary Trimmer
• Carl DC-210N Personal Rotary Trimmer
• Carl DC-220N Heavy Duty Rotary Trimmer

We are excited to have these new trimmers on our site. We have always had great luck with Carl. A few years ago I purchased an RT-200 for my wife and she loves it. I am certain you will love these new rotary paper trimmers. You can find our entire selection of rotary paper cutters here.

Paper cutters and trimmers come in all shapes, sizes and designs. What makes one trimmer better than another? A lot of it has to do with the build quality, reputation and price. Carl, manufacturer of several different paper trimmers, has developed a reputation for making great trimmers at an affordable price. Is a Carl paper trimmer a good choice for you? Let’s find out.

To begin with, about 90%+ of Carl’s paper trimmers are what’s known as rotary paper cutters. They use a small pizza cutter-like blade that rolls around in a specially designed cutting head. This wheel rolls across paper, cutting it in the process. Rotary paper cutters are known for being accurate and ideal for use in photography, and perfect for scrapbooking purposes. Carl also makes a few different 2 and 3-hole paper punches as well as an entry-level corner rounder.

I would consider Carl to be on par with most entry to mid-level paper cutters, such as Fiskars. The quality isn’t up to high-volume cutting levels, like Rotatrim, but they work great for home and small business use.

The Carl RT-200 / RT-218 and the DC line (DC-210, DC-238 & DC-250) of paper trimmers are by far the most popular trimmers available. These cutters feature interchangeable blades that are extremely popular for crafts and scrapbooking. Some of these interchangeable blades include:

• Perforating Blade
• Scoring Blade

The RT-200 / RT-218 and CC-10 include unique trimming blades such as:

• Deckle Cut Blade
• Shortwave Blade
• Pinking Blade
• Scallop Blade
• Squiggle Blade
• Victorian Blade
• Colonial Blade
• Wave Blade

This combination of different blades, interchangeable blades and overall reliability make our Carl paper trimmers a hit. I even purchased an RT-200 for my wife for her own photo-trimming projects.

So is the Carl line of paper cutters perfect for everyone? I wouldn’t recommend Carl paper trimmers for print shops, copy centers or larger businesses, but I would certainly recommend them for home use, school use, small-business use and other occasional cutting projects. Carl paper trimmers look great and are very portable.

You can find our selection of Carl paper trimmers here and our entire selection of paper cutters and trimmers here.

Rotatrim easily makes some of the best rotary paper cutters available. They feature an excellent build quality, extremely accurate cuts and they seem to last for years. If you are on a budget, however, you may not be able to afford a Rotatrim Professional paper cutter. So are there some other brands that compete on a “Rotatrim” level that are more affordable?

I have a tough time saying that “more affordable” cutters are equal to a Rotatrim, but there are some pretty good contenders out there. I have come up with a list of some great Rotatrim alternatives that are still a great value. These cutters should still provide you with excellent cuts and great durability, all for a great price.

Top 5 Best Rotatrim Professional Rotary Paper Cutter Alternatives

1. Dahle 500 Series Professional Rolling Paper Cutters – The Dahle 500 series of professional rolling paper cutters are by far the top alternative to Rotatrim. They are very popular for cutting down photographs, card stock and other paper.
2. Dahle 400 Series Premium Rolling Paper Cutters – The Dahle 400 series of premium rolling paper cutters are hot. They are affordable, are available in different lengths and are still very accurate.
3. Foster Econocut Rotary Paper Trimmers – These paper cutters aren’t able to handle the high-volume of the Rotatrim Professional series, but are still an excellent alternative for light to medium volume cutting. The Foster Econocut line of cutters is accurate and easy to use.
4. Akiles Roll@Blade Rotary Paper Trimmer – The Akiles line of Roll@Blade paper cutters are accurate and extremely affordable. The only downside is that they are only available in a couple of sizes.
5. Rotatrim Mastercut (Monorail) Paper Cutter – The Mastercut line of paper cutters, from Rotatrim, use a square bar for stabilization. These cutters are a great alternative to the “professional” line of Rotatrim paper cutters.

This list of paper cutters should help you find a great cutter at an affordable price. While I still think the Rotatrim Professional line of cutters is THE king of the hill, these other cutters are definitely great contenders. You can find our entire line of rotary paper cutters here.

Are you looking for the perfect scrapbook cutter, but don’t have a huge budget to spend? There are a lot of inexpensive paper trimmers out there, but one model that has increasingly grown in popularity is the Tamerica TM-20 (5 in 1) paper trimmer. I’ll explain why in this review.

Tamerica has been manufacturing affordable paper cutters, binding machines and laminators for years. Tamerica is known for making affordable mid-range products that are typically ideal for low to medium-volume use.

The Tamerica TM-20 is a scrapbooking paper cutter for many reasons. To begin with, it has a 12.6″ cutting length. This is idea for cutting photographs, decorative card stock, printed material and much more. It has a 5 sheet cutting capacity with a straight blade.

Not only does the TM-20 come with a straight blade, but it also includes a variety of patterned blades. This includes a perforated blade, a wave blade and a scoring wheel. It even has a built-in corner rounder blade. Swapping the cutting heads / wheels is quick and easy, taking just seconds.

The cutting head slides along a rectangular-shaped bar. This helps keep the head steady, which subsequently improves accuracy. The style of the TM-20 is very modern and fits right in with existing office equipment and supplies.

The base of the Tamerica TM-20 is screen printed with a variety of guides designed to help with common cuts and measurements. The guide is white, screen-printed on the black base. The TM-20 weighs in at 20 pounds shipped, which means it is hefty enough to be durable yet light enough to be easily moved around.

While the TM-20 is by no means a heavy-duty paper cutter, it is excellent for use in the home and for occasional cutting jobs in the office.

I would personally feel comfortable giving this cutter to my wife for all her scrapbooking operations. Considering it comes with a variety of patterned interchangeable wheels, it really is a great value for the price.

You can find the Tamerica TM-20 (5 in 1) paper trimmer here. You can find our entire selection of rotary paper cutters here.

Are you in the market for a high quality rotary paper cutter? If you are, you have probably discovered that there are literally dozens of different models and brands out there. One model you should consider is the Dahle 440 premium 14″ rolling paper trimmer. This is my review.

The premium series of rolling paper cutters from Dahle includes the 440, 442, 444, 446 and 448. These cutters are al very similar in design and quality with the biggest differentiating factor being the cutting length. While Dahle calls these rolling paper trimmers, most people know them as rotary paper trimmers.

The Dahle 440 premium trimmer is capable of cutting paper up to 14 ¼” long. The base of this cutter is made out of folded sheet metal, with a grid pattern screen printed on the surface to help assist with paper alignment. While there is a ruler on the side of the cutter in inches, the grid is in centimeters.

The blade on the Dahle 440 is able to retain its sharp edge for some time. This is due in part to the self-sharpening blade. Each time the cutting head is moved, the circular cutting blade slides against a metal base, which helps maintain an edge. The cutting wheel on the Dahle 440 is capable of cutting in both directions.

Unlike many cheap rotary trimmers out there, the Dahle 440 is German engineered and German made. A cleverly designed clamping mechanism helps keep paper in place during the cutting process.

You will also notice by looking at the picture that the cutting bar is square, which also helps keep cuts straight and accurate. This square bar helps contribute to the 440’s impressive 30 sheet cutting capacity (based on 20lb copy paper). You can use the Dahle 440 to cut card stock, photos, laminated paper and more. Be aware that the cutting capacity goes down as you cut thicker material.

Overall I have to say that I really like the Dahle 440. It still isn’t up to the quality level of the Rotatrim Professional series, but I think it is a great deal and excellent quality for the price. It should be fine for medium-duty and some heavy-duty cutting.

You can find the Dahle 440 premium 14″ rolling paper trimmer here. You can find our entire selection of rotary paper cutters here.

Whether it’s purchasing software or equipment for a garden, we’ve all purchased products only to find out later they don’t do what you thought or needed. It’s a pretty big letdown. The same goes for office equipment. Here are a few ideas on when and when not to get a guillotine paper trimmer.

There are many different paper cutters out there. This includes rotary trimmers, stack cutters, guillotine paper trimmers and much more. The cutter you get will depend entirely on what you need to do. Take into consideration what you need the cutter for now and what you may need it for later down the road.

Multi-Purpose Cutting – Guillotine paper trimmers are considered by many to be some of the best multi-purpose paper cutters around. This is because they can be used to cut card stock, photographs, laminated material, signs and much more. If you have the need to cut a variety of material, a guillotine paper trimmer (found here) may be just what you need.

High-Capacity Cutting - Most guillotine paper trimmers cut anywhere from 15 to 60 sheets of paper at a time. Cutting capacity depends on the specific model. If you are cutting hundreds to thousands of sheets of paper a day, you may need something with a little more cutting power. If this sounds like you’re situation, you may want to consider getting a stack paper cutter (found here) instead of a guillotine paper trimmer.

Photo Cutting – While guillotine paper trimmers generally do a good job of cutting down photographs, these cutters may not be the best option for exclusively cutting photographs. If you will only be cutting photographs, and nothing else, you may want to consider using a rotary paper trimmer (found here). Rotary paper trimmers are extremely precise and are great for repetitive photo cutting.

These are just a few situations where a guillotine paper trimmer may or may not be your best option. If you still have questions about the right paper cutter for you, please feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 and speak with one of our paper cutting experts. You can find our entire selection of paper cutters here.

So you need a rotary paper cutter or trimmer and don’t know where to begin? One brand that is a big hit with our customers is Dahle. They make a wide variety of rotary paper trimmers and cutters. I will go over a few of their most popular models.

Dahle is probably best known for their paper cutters, but they also make a wide variety of paper folders and paper shredders. While Dahle make a great selection of stack cutters and guillotine paper trimmers, they are especially popular for their rotary paper trimmers (sometimes called rolling trimmers).

Here are few of their most popular models. I will include a link to each one for easy navigation.

Top 3 Best Dahle Rotary Paper Trimmers and Cutters

1. Dahle 507, 507K & 508 Rotary Trimmers (Personal Series) – This line of trimmers is especially popular for scrapbooking and for cutting photographs. It is affordable, lightweight and very easy to carry around. These trimmers are capable of cutting up to 7 sheets of paper at a time.
2. Dahle 550, 552 & 554 Rotary Trimmers (Professional Series) – The Dahle 550 series is probably one of the most popular Dahle rotary trimmers offered. These cutters offer great low to medium-volume cutting capabilities. The blades are self-sharpening and the screen-printed grid makes it easy to align pictures and paper. Most of these cutters have a 20 sheet cutting capacity. The professional line also includes the Dahle 556 & 558 found here. The Dahle 550 series is popular with professional photographers, print shops and graphic design agencies.
3. Dahle 440, 442, 444, 446, 448 Rotary Trimmers (Premium Series) – The Dahle 440 series of cutters is considered the Dahle’s heavy-duty line of trimmers. Many of these trimmers can handle up to 30 sheets of paper at time. Optional floor stands are available for the two largest models. These trimmers can be table or wall mounted. These rotary trimmer are a popular choice among professional photographers, picture framers, and print & copy shops.

So there you have it, the most popular Dahle rotary paper cutters. Do you have some questions about Dahle rotary paper trimmers? Call one of our specialists at 1-800-658-8788. Have a great day!

Are you looking for a good alternative to a Rotatrim Professional rotary trimmer? This may be to save money or simply because you want to try something different. One model you should seriously consider is the Foster Keencut Classic rotary paper trimmer. I have used this rotary trimmer and this is my review.

To begin with, have you noticed the similarities between the Keencut Classic and the Rotatrim Professional? The design looks very similar. Probably the biggest similarity, and the biggest plus, is the cutting rail. The Keencut Classic has two rails for the cutting head, which makes cuts straight and accurate every time.

The Keencut Classic features an aluminum metal base that is lightweight and sturdy, measuring in at 15-inches deep. You can get the Keencut Classic in a variety of different lengths starting at 12 inches and going up to 48 inches.

The length you use depends entirely on what you will be cutting. Be sure you get a cutter that not only handles what you’re cutting now, but will also handle future jobs.

The Keencut Classic is commonly used by photographers, scrapbookers, graphic arts departments and many more. It can be used to cut up to 10 sheets of 20# paper, thin tissue paper, plastics and can even be used to cut 0.08-inch aluminum printing plate.

I have personally used this cutter to cut laminated paper without any issues. The cuts are clean and are absent of burs. The effort needed to push the cutting head is minimal.

The Keencut Classic also includes an adjustable guide that is attached to a ruler. This makes it easy to align paper and ensures the cut is where it’s supposed to be.

Overall I am impressed with this cutter. I definitely consider it to be a great alternative to Rotatrim and Dahle rotary trimmers.

You can find the Foster Keencut Classic rotary paper trimmer here. You can find our entire selection of rotary paper trimmers here.

Finding a good rotary paper trimmer can be tough and finding one that is affordable can be even more difficult. One model you may want to consider is Dahle’s 550 series of professional rotary paper trimmers. This includes the Dahle 550, 552 and 554 trimmers. We have some of these cutters on our showroom floor and I have had a chance to use them. This is my review.

The Dahle 550 series of rotary trimmers, sometimes called rolling paper trimmers, are often brought up as alternatives to Rotatrim paper trimmers. This is because the Dahle 550 series trimmers bring a similar level of quality and productivity at a lower price.

The Dahle 550, 552 and 554 are pretty much the same cutters, but are in different lengths. Each trimmer uses a round rolling blade to cut material. The blade looks a lot like a pizza cutter wheel and even rotates as it is being used.

These trimmers can be used to cut paper, photographs, card stock, laminated documents and more. They are rated to be able to cut up to 20 sheets of standard 20# paper at a time. This number will decrease if you are cutting thicker material or card stock.

Capacity isn’t the selling point for a rotary trimmer though. What most people consider to be most important is precision and the ability to cut a straight line. The Dahle 550 series trimmers can do this well. The cutting head is easy to use and slides easily along the bar. The clamping mechanism seems to hold the paper well, preventing crooked cuts.

One feature I would like to see in the Dahle 550 line of trimmers is two sliding rails instead of just one for the cutting head. Multiple rails, as found in the Rotatrim Professional Series, make the trimmer more stable when cutting multiple sheets of paper. The single rail used does still seem to be stable and should still provide accuracy when cutting photographs and other material.

The Dahle 550, 552 and 554 have a printed grid patterns on the base of the trimmer. This grid can be used to align pictures, paper and helps to ensure a straight cut. Be aware, however, that the grid is in metric measurements. Even the common paper sizes printed on the base are metric paper sizes (A4, A5, etc.). I would like to see grid patterns in inches for those of us in the United States.  It does, however, include a side ruler in inches.

Overall I consider the Dahle 550 series of trimmers to be good machines, especially for the price. Are they as good as Rotatrim? No, but that is like comparing a Ford to a Porsche. The Porsche is great, but the Ford is probably just fine for most people.

You can find the Dahle 550, 552 and 554 professional rotary trimmers here. You can find our entire selection of rotary paper cutters here.